This Can't Be Happening
by not really sane fairy
Summary: Marlene sets Lily up with James, unaware they used to be school enemies. Oneshot.


**AN: This is an entry for WeeklyAU! Competition on HPFC. The AU was blind date. Please rate and review!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

"Dammit, girl, sit still! I'm almost done!" Marlene McKinnon exclaimed as she plucked the last undesirable hair on her best friend's eyebrow. Said best friend, however, did not appreciate her perfectionism at the moment.

"But it hurts!" Lily Evans – well, whined. "Why are you even forcing me to this? I never plucked my eyebrows before, why start now?"

Marlene sighed. Lily asked this question at least ten times in the last half an hour and frankly, she was getting sick of it. Fortunately, she was almost done. "Because you're going on a date and you have to look perfect, that's why!" Marlene caught Lily mockingly miming her out of the corner of her eye and luckily managed to restrain herself from slapping her on the head, for getting Lily's hair done took her eternity and she wasn't about to destroy it now.

Instead she settled for plucking the last hair with extra power and was rewarded with a painful "OW!" Satisfied with her efforts, Marlene stepped back and looked over Lily with an eye of professional and didn't find a single hair out of place. With a huge smile, Marlene turned, bowed to an invisible audience and said, "My masterpiece, ladies and gentlemen."

Lily rolled her eyes and stood. "Yes, yes, you did a great job. You said I can borrow you car, yeah?"

"With that sort of enthusiasm, I'm suddenly inclined to say no," Marlene answered. "And you didn't even look at yourself after I was done with you. "

Lily smiled. "I know I look stunning. I am naturally pretty and with your care I probably advanced to Goddess status. "

Marlene blushed but shook her head. "Flattery will get you nowhere, Evans. Now, shoo, off to the bathroom with you."

Lily sighed, but went, with Marlene following her. No way would she miss out on that gasp of surprise. Lily was right. Marlene was a whiz with makeup and more often than not she had some acquaintances of hers knocking at her door at weekends, begging her to do their make-up.

And Lily did not disappoint. Marlene smiled, proud of her handiwork. Since there wasn't much to do, considering Lily was the only girl able to compete with her in the looks department, and that was saying something, Marlene only highlighted her striking green eyes and hid a few freckles. She didn't bother with lipstick, since Marlene was positive Lily would be getting snogged that evening, and Marlene knew boys didn't like girls with a lot of lipstick.

When Lily managed to tear her eyes away from the mirror, she looked at Marlene and stared at her for a bit. "This better be worth it. I did not sit through that torture just to find out that guy is a total bore."

Marlene theatrically gasped. "Do you really think that low of me? When would I ever set you up with a boring guy?" Lily just raised her perfectly plucked eyebrow. Marlene broke in two seconds. "Don't look at me like that! Yeah, I tried to hook you up with a few guys that you didn't click with, so what? Lily, trust me on this one. You'll love him."

"The same way I loved Benjy?" Lily muttered under her nose. Marlene slapped her on the arm. "Shut up, woman. You're already dolled up, wouldn't want all that hard work go naught, would we?"

"Guess not." Lily relented. "All right, I'm going. Wish me luck."

"Trust me, love. You won't need it." Marlene said confidently, and waved as Lily left the car park.

* * *

When Lily arrived to the restaurant, she looked over the place with an uneasy look. It wasn't that the place was weird; on the contrary, she knew they cooked here well; it was just that all this blind date business was tiring her out. Ever since she broke up with her last boyfriend, Chuck, Marlene has been sending her on a string of dubious dates with guys she had no common ground with whatsoever.

Taking a deep breath, she entered the establishment. Marlene told her that the guy has black hair and wears glasses. She inconspicuously looked at the patrons and was elated to find out she saw no one of that description. It was always so awkward to go to a person to find out whether or not were they the one you were looking for and God forbid they weren't. The embarrassment levels…

After waiting a few minutes, she heard someone approaching her. Mentally bracing herself, she looked up and…

_Oh no. This can't be happening. Anyone but him…_

James Potter stood in front of her with a gobsmacked look on his face, checking her out and not even bothering to hide it. When he finally deemed it appropriate to look in her eyes, she wished he hadn't. That look made her glad she was sitting, because her knees suddenly turned to jelly and her stomach clenched uncomfortably. Lily got a sinking feeling she was in trouble. But then he grinned and there was nothing else to do for her than gape like an idiot.

"You're my blind date, Evans?" he said, looking like a Cheshire cat.

After finally recovering her wits, she said, "Un-bloody-fortunately." Meanwhile he sat on the chair opposite of her and continued to look at her.

Lily was paralyzed. By what exactly she didn't know, but she suspected it was because he outgrown his gangly years and filled out and _god damn it_ he was handsome.

And she really hoped he thought her shock was not because she found him really, _really_ attractive, but because she couldn't believe her bad luck. But, considering the smirk that has been tugging on his mouth constantly, she suspected the former.

This was unbelievable. Lily was rejoicing when she left for university, she figured she would never have to see _his _face again. But oh no, she comes to uni and finds a friend who sets her up with her old school enemy.

The silence was getting uncomfortable. Luckily a waitress appeared soon and gave them the menus. Although she knew what she wanted, she stalled, trying to figure out just what on earth should she tell him and what would they talk about. After realizing she was staring at the same page for a minute, she put her menu down and faced Potter with her signature death glare.

"You do realize I'm only here because Marlene said she wouldn't help me with my History homework if I ditched this, yeah?"

He smiled. "Yeah, I figured. You would be long gone if something wasn't holding you back."

Damn him to the deepest parts of hell. That smile was going to kill her. "I just want a nice, easy life. What's wrong with that?" she mumbled under her nose. Unfortunately, he had heard her.

"But isn't easy life boring? I would hate being cooped up in an office, doing paperwork until my eyes cross. Hey, just last week I was bungee jumping with Sirius. Evans, it was great. It was Sirius' birthday so we splurged a bit. We went…"

Not many people knew it, but Lily loved adrenaline. She smiled. Not even five minutes into this and they already had something to talk about. Maybe this date wouldn't be so bad after all.


End file.
